Water is the driving force of all nature. We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one. The lack of water not only kills the living nature around us but without water even we, all living organisms, will be dead.
Of all the purposes for which we use water, consuming or drinking water is the bare necessity. And lack of clean drinking water may lead to various health challenges such as dehydration, skin infections, fever and viral infections among both humans and animals. Only we have multiplied and dominated the world along with drinking water sources. This has left out innocent animals who cannot harness water like we do.
For the same, many animals are on the brink of death, or already dead. Isn’t that heart wrenching?
So, why not take the charge of saving these poor souls with the water we got, and give them a healthier environment to live in. It is a responsibility that makes us humane.
This is exactly what came to the mind of one Lakshman Molleti who understood the plight of stray animals.
He went on to establish an entire organization, Animals Water Bowl Project (AWBP) that is quenching thousands of animals on the streets every day with over 4300+ water bowls over several cities of India, namely – Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Medchal, Rangareddy, Sangareddy, Vizag, Thane, Pune.
Ever since it was established in 2017, AWBP has been working towards the welfare, and creating awareness about animals through programs. They even conduct competitions, and composed educational song for better reach.
With this they have received the Shining World Compassion Award from Supreme Master Ching Hai (Taiwan) in the year 2020. The Pollination Project, California also recognized and rewarded AWBP for the year 2018-2019.
How Animal Water Bowl Project Was Formed
Lakshman Molleti has always been fond of animals and so he would often feed them on his way back while working in Pune, back in 2017. There he came across a street dog named Raju. In a very few days, Raju grew fond of Lakshman, and vice versa. But he noticed that the localites treated the strays rashly and thrashed them. Raju would live in constant fear and hide away.
Seeing this, Molleti was concerned. He tried his best to tell the people in the area including security guards to treat the animals kindly and not be wary of them. Thankfully this worked and the issue was solved, but partially.
One unfortunate day, Raju met with a road accident. Lakshman could not let him be in pain or lose his life so he rushed Raju to the Blue Cross Hospital in Pune. There the dog was thoroughly treated and he was back on his feet within 45 days nut he struggled to walk.
Lakshman started to notice the deprived state of the stray dogs, and the precarious state of his beloved stray – Raju. He wanted to do something for them and most of all, Raju. That is when he decided to adopt the canine.
In the coming days, Raju traveled to several cities with Lakshman along as per his job engagements, finally reaching his hometown in Vishakhapatnam.
Lakshman’s experience with Raju led him to address the challenges faced by animals.
“Raju’s presence in my life changed my perception of animals a lot. They teach us unconditional love and so I decided to make sure that all creatures get to live equally on this planet,” told Lakshman Molleti to Life Beyond Numbers.
Molletti had the will to do good for the society since he was a student. The poor state of animals gave him a direction.
“If your focus is to see or build good communities around, your first step should start with animal welfare. There were many instances when I observed animals drinking water and eating food from the sewage due to a lack of access to resources, and human developments. This disturbed me and I was willing to help them. I understood that I could solve these challenges only by engaging everyone in animal welfare. Hence, I initiated Animals Water Bowl Project in Hyderabad which focuses primarily on providing water to the voiceless creatures and advocating, and creating understanding regarding animals in the community,” shared Molleti.
Animals Water Bowl Project transforms people into leaders for animals in the community. They distribute water bowls in awareness programs which are taken by willing people who then install these bowls in their vicinity and make sure it is filled every day for the animals to drink.
By now AWBP is a team of 3 Trustees and several volunteers who have organized 101 awareness events to help reach more and more people.
“In the coming years we want to collaborate with more schools, colleges, and corporate reaching several locations of India. We would also continue to create more educational content, and build relationship with the government to understand and join our vision. At least 1 Million animals should benefit from Animals Water Bowl Project,” envisioned the founder of AWBP.
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